British Superbike Championship 2005 - Round Ten - Cadwell Park

Tommy Hill upstaged title chasing Michael Rutter to head free practice times ahead of the Holiday Monday double race tenth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park.

Riding the Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha, the 20 year old Lingfield rider smashed almost a second off the Lincolnshire circuit lap record, covering the undulating 2.18 miles in 1m 28.213secs.

Hill is still chasing a maiden victory in the country’s premier series, with a best result so far this season of seventh, but his maturing style took him to a winning double in the recent non-championship event at Castle Combe.

Rutter, who needs strong results here after a disappointing time in the previous round at Silverstone which saw his lead reduced to 26 points, ran a little under half a second down aboard his HM Plant Honda.

“I’ve picked myself up after Silverstone and am now focussed on the job in hand – at least I scored points there, but, here I need victories to stay ahead,” said Rutter, whose two main rivals, his team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari and Gregorio Lavilla, both struggled to match the pace.

They ran down the pack, while Aussie Dean Thomas, riding the Hawk Kawasaki, and Leon Haslam, on the Airwaves Ducati, moved into close contention, marginally slower than Rutter.

Karl Harris, the three times British Supersport Champion, ran fifth fastest, 1m 28.790secs, ahead of Sean Emmett (Yamaha), Glen Richards (Kawasaki) and the Rizla Suzuki duo of James Haydon, a faller during the morning session, and the reigning champion John Reynolds.

Gregorio Lavilla, tenth fastest, struggled somewhat as he learned the demanding circuit, with a best time of 1m 29.455secs, while surprisingly Ryuichi Kiyonari, Rutter’s team-mate and nearest rival was well of the pace, languishing back in fourteenth place on the leaderboard, with a best lap of 1m 29.886secs.

James Buckingham, the points leader in the British Superbike Cup, looks set to tighten his grip after heading practice for that category aboard his Quay Garage Suzuki.

Rizla Suzuki Report

Rizla Suzuki's John Reynolds and James Haydon made good use of today’s two 50-minute long practice sessions to improve their GSX-R1000s for Bank Holiday Monday’s double-header 10th round of the British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park.

James Haydon slashed one-second off his lap time in the afternoon session to finish eighth quickest on the day. He tested Dunlop tyres and tried both his bikes for set-up around the 2.18-mile long Lincolnshire circuit.

Reigning British Superbike Champion JR took eight-tenths of a second off his morning time to finish 9th on the time sheets, a fraction behind his team mate. He worked on his suspension and tyres and finished the session happy with the feeling from his bike and determined to push harder tomorrow. Yamaha’s Tommy Hill was fastest.

Superbike racing starts at 13:15 on Monday, August 29th. It will be covered live by Sky Sports and a package highlights programme will be broadcast the following Sunday morning on Channel 4.

James: “I started to feel comfortable enough on my Rizla Suzuki that I was able to slide it through the corners. That’s a good feeling that I like to have with my bike as it allows me to push as hard as possible.

“We ran race distance on one tyre, tested a couple of other compounds and have a good idea what will work here. We still think we can improve the bike – the rear feels a little soft for my liking and we will alter that for tomorrow morning.”

JR: “I am losing time through the first sector and seem to be on the pace everywhere else. As I go through Charlies there are some bumps mid-corner that are not filling me with confidence. We changed the rear shock setting for my last session on track and it felt a lot better - I’ll be happy to attack more tomorrow.”

Robert Wicks, Team Manager: “Compared to our test here earlier this month, James is nearly four-tenths of a second faster and that is good progress. He needs to find more time tomorrow to compete at the front and the good news is that his crew has an idea how to achieve that.

“John has matched his test time and is right behind James. He is taking his time to reacquaint himself with this track and its particular challenges and I am certain he will raise his game tomorrow for qualifying and then again for the races on Monday.”

Superbike Practice

Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 1:28.213

Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.473

Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +0.493

Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.572

Karl Harris (Honda) +0.577

Sean Emmett (Yamaha) +0.764

Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +0.895

James Haydon (Suzuki) +0.963

John Reynolds (Suzuki) +0.994

Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +1.242.

Supersport Practice

Andrews 1m30.86
Crutchlow 1m30.99
Camier 1m31.92
Robinson 1m32.01
Jones 1m32.15
Llewellyn 1m32.40
Da Costa 1m32.44
Frost 1m32.51
Riba 1m32.51
Easton 1m32.65

Superstock 1,000cc Practice

Jackson 1m32.93
Bridewell 1m33.22
Allan 1m33.48
Fitzpatrick 1m33.56
Rainey 1m33.94
Coates 1m33.96
Hickman 1m33.96
Young 1m33.98
Zanotti 1m34.02
Davies 1m34.68